Category: World News

Just recently, President-elect Donald Trump launched a tour dubbed “thank you” to thank the Americans for voting him as the president. On the first day of the tour, Trump discussed lots of issues in his speech. One of the key issues that took attention of most people is nomination of General “Mad Dog’ Mattis for the defense secretary position.

Mattis is regarded as the closest substitution of General George Patton who served as the general during the World War II. Trump had made other nominations of his Pentagon team before he announced about the General Mattis.

About Mattis

James Mattis is a 66-year-old retired mariner. He acquired the name “Mad Dog’ after successfully leading troops to war in the Persian Gulf in the year 1991. Mattis has also lead troops to Afghanistan and Iraq in early 2000.

He holds a record of winning battles and this one of the key things that make him suitable for the Secretary of Defense position. In the year 2004, he led the American and British troops to Fallujah war in Iraq, and they won. Trump believes that Mattis is the best candidate for the position. They had met earlier in a hotel, but no one revealed what they discussed until the rally in Ohio.

Mattis History

Mattis has served in the American Military for the last 44 years. In the year 2010, he was promoted from being a general to become the US Central Command. While serving the position, he was responsible for US forces in the Middle-East. Mattis was also a big critic of the Iran Nuclear deal for the period he served as US Central Command during the Obama era i.e. from 2010 to 2013. Mattis gave away his job as the US Central Command after he was fired by Obama.

Is General Mattis Eligible for the Role?

After Trump nominated General Mattis to be the Secretary of Defense, that doesn’t mean that he must take the position. For one to take the position, he/he must meet all the legal requirements. It can be a major setback for General Mattis.

One of the US legal obligations of a retired officer to serve as the defense secretary, he/she must be out of uniform for a minimum period of seven years. Mattis doesn’t meet this legal requirement. For him to take the position, Republican-controlled Congress needs to favor the legislation. It’s getting quite hard for Mattis to take the job since a Democratic Senator from New York, Kristen Gillibrand said she couldn’t vote an exception to the rule.

Mattis career in the military has been successful, and he was able to keep good relationships with others. He has managed to get support from the military, and this has increased his chances of becoming the next Secretary of Defense.

Conclusion

Out of all people, Trump has nominated to be a part of his Pentagon team; most people have accepted General Mattis. He suits the positions, judging from career history and involvement in country’s security. His nomination announcement was a surprise although there were rumors that he would be nominated for the position. Although he doesn’t meet all the legal requirements, still he can become the Secretary of Defense if he gets approval from the Congress. Mattis is expected to take over the office after the Inauguration of Donald Trump.

Over the last ten years, the arctic sea ice has seen a decline. This can be largely attributed to the increased effects of global warming. Normally, during winter, the arctic ice increases in width and thickness. During the summer, the ice melts thereby reducing in size.

However, according to the satellite records, this year the warmest summer was experienced. This resulted in a mass decline in the Arctic ice. According to the visual records by NASA Goddard’s Scientific Studio, this year, the Arctic experienced the melting of some of its oldest and thickest ice.

The Build up to November

The month of September saw a quick increase in the mass of ice. This continued up to mid-October. However, the freeze-up in early October was slow and only saw the ice mass of approximately 378,000 square kilometers. The slow freeze-up is attributed to the above average sea surface temperatures recorded this period.

Another factor that played a significant role in the decline of the ice is the atmospheric temperatures above the Arctic Ocean. This years’ temperature above the Arctic was 14 degrees Celsius more than the average recovered from 1981-2010. The difference in the air, temperatures led to unusual atmospheric circulation. These two environmental factors led to the extension of the warm temperature from October into November.

This November, summer was over and above the normal temperatures to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. This resulted into the normal melting of ice. However, the mass of ice that melted was also more than the average that is usually recorded in other years. This was experienced around mid-November. After the period was over, cooler air that had been displaced by the warm temperatures started returning to the Arctic.

It was expected that the ice would increase quickly due to the low temperatures. However, according to Satellite images on November 19, the Arctic ice mass spent a number of days shrinking before starting to increase in width and thickness.

It is reported that from the beginning of the month of November, the extent of the Arctic sea was 7.07 million square miles which were the lowest data ever recorded for that time of the year. By the end of the month, about 3.33 million square miles of the ice mass have melted. This is about 400,000 square miles more than any ice wasting ever recorded in history for that period of the year.

This greater decline in the ice mass that melted means that winter might not be able to freeze up as much ice so as to cover up the areas that wasted away. Julienne Stroeve, a researcher at the National Snow and Ice Data Center predicted that with this decline in the wasting of the ice, there might not be any ice in the Arctic region by mid-century.

Conclusion

Global warming has a major impact on the climate of the world. The wasting of the Arctic ice is just one of the recorded major changes in the world climate. Therefore, global leaders should be more proactive in implementing policies to safeguard posterity from the adverse effects of global warming.

Donald Trump is now the president elect after the highly contested presidential elections. The campaign time is over now. America and the world are waiting to see what unfolds in his presidency. trying to see what changes to expect with a Trump Presidency. This is based on the issues he expressed during the presidential debates and during the campaign period.

1. Climate Change

Mr. Trump explicitly expressed his opposition to the Obama’s Clean Power Plan. He also said that he believed that Climate Change is a hoax and threatened to pull out of the Paris Climate Deal which was the first international treaty to address the issue of climate change. In addition to that, he had threatened to lift the regulations on oil and coal.This, he said, is hurting the economy of the US.

During the recent interviews ,the president elect has expressed a softer approach to issue on climate change. During an interview with a Times columnist, Mr Trump alluded that he is maintaining “an open mind” on the issue about the Paris Climate Change Agreement. Therefore, moving forward, it is expected to be seen what the president elect will actually do with the climate change issue.

2. Trade

Mr Trump enlisted a seven point plan to rebuild the Economy of United States. In the plan, he pointed out that he would renegotiate with NAFTA partners with the intent to impose import taxes on Mexico and China. His goal, he said, would be to increase the jobs in America by ensuring that products are manufactured in America.

This echoes a sanction by George W Bush in 2002. He increased the tariffs on imported steel with similar intentions. Instead, the U.S. steel producers took advantage raising their prices due to the increased demand. This resulted in higher steel prices and losses of thousand of jobs. Therefore, Mr. Trumps intentions might lead to similar events if implemented.

3. Trade Barriers

According to a China professor named Zhou Nianli, If Mr. Trump implemented the trade tariffs, China might create trade barriers for America. This could lead to a challenge in American companies investing in China. It could also make it difficult for some U.S companies which get their raw materials exclusively from China. This might result in job loss to many Americans. Even worse, it could lead to diplomatic issues between the two powerful nations.

4. North Korea Nuclear Program

China has been instrumental in assisting the U.S in its quest to contain North Korea in its nuclear projects. It is also very instrumental in helping U.S implement certain policies in the Middle East. These activities have been possible due to the mutual relationship between the two nations in the past. With a Trump Presidency, the relationship risks becoming poor if the trade tariffs are implemented.

5. NATO

During his campaign, Mr Trump expressed his dissatisfaction with NATO. He threatened to pull out of the agreement and leave the NATO allies to defend for themselves. He proposed that the allies must increase their commitment to the agreement . This is by at least paying up to 2% for the defense.

6. Better Relations With Russia

During the Obama presidency, the US experienced a lukewarm relationship with the Russian government. However, this is expected to change with the seemingly mutual admiration between the two leaders. The president elect expressed his appreciation for the Russian president, which was met with a similar response from the president.

Conclusion

Since being declared the president elect, Mr Trump has adopted a softer tone. This might see a change in his aggressiveness to implement some of the points he had proposed earlier. However, all is about to be seen after his inauguration in January.

Stephen Hawking is one of the most successful theological physicists in the world today. He is also an author and a director of a Research Center for Theoretical Cosmology at Cambridge University. He rose to fame after he published a book “Brief History of Time’ in 1988.

Throughout his career, Hawking has been able to explain a lot of things about the universe; this has made him more authoritative on answering questions about the universe. Just recently, Hawking made headlines after he said that the human race has only a 1000 year left on earth. This article contains some of the issues that may lead to the extinction of human race according to Hawking.

Nuclear Energy and Weapons

According to Hawking, one of the things that may lead to the demise of the human race is nuclear weapons. A human can never take full control over them; but when they backfire, it can be a disaster to us. Technological advancements have contributed to the bred of more complex nuclear weapons; it has also helped human to “effectively’ utilize the nuclear power. Today, we have more and more nuclear power plants set up. According to Hawking, humans concentrate on the advantages of the technological advancements and failing to look on the negative side.

The Global Warming

Stephen Hawking believes that the gradual changes in the world’s temperature can also culminate into the end of the human race. It is not yet proven that the humans are the primary causes of the global warming, but there are a couple of facts that show how the world temperature have changed since the beginning of industrialization.

Hawking believes that with time, the earth will be just like planet Venus where average temperatures are 250 degrees Celsius, and it rains sulphuric acid. This is yet to happen with time. According to NASA temperature data, the earth is getting warmer every day. If earth turns out to be like Venus, it will be hard for the human race to survive the conditions.

Artificial Intelligence

Another key factor that may contribute to the extinction of human race is Artificial intelligence. Hawking believes that that people may develop robot creatures that may outdo them. He gave an example of today; robots have taken away jobs of people in some industry and especially in the digital industry where the big farms just have a little number of employees compared to the past, the revenue and they are making and the customers they are reaching globally. Robots which are capable of thinking as man is under development and their performance are unpredictable.

Man-made viruses

In the world today, research on genes and how to heal diseases have become so common. People are even trying to make their viruses using genes. Most of all this is done for good reasons. The worst part about it is that people don’t fully understand how genes work. These projects may end up giving rise to untreated disease which may be a threat to the world’s population. Hawking has warned people about the projects, and if they don’t take the warning seriously, it will lead to the extinction of humanity in the universe.

Conclusions

According to Stephen Hawking, humans are also an endangered species. They are the cause of all these problems. He estimates that if human continues to do whatever they are doing now, they won’t exist on planet earth in thousands of years to come. The earth will be inhabitable; it will be just like Venus. Global warming, artificial intelligence, Human-made viruses and nuclear energy being the main causes.

On November 30th 2016, the US House of Representatives passed a $6.5 billion health bill. The bill is expected to benefit the families who have a member or members with mental disorders. It is one of the most significant bill that targets people with the mental problems.

Since the year 1963, the House has never passed a bill favoring people with mental problems; this bill is considered as a great move for them. According to Maria A. Oquendo, the President of the American Psychiatrist Association, the bill also aimed at benefiting patients with mental diseases that result from substance use e.g. drug addicts with mental health problems.

Mental Health Problems in the US

It is estimated that out of every five Americans, one is suffering from a mental health problem. The problem can either be natural or as a result of drug and substance abuse. If the people suffering from these mental diseases got access to a healthcare, they would get the right help and the number would decrease.
The patients would also have a chance to live a better life than they do. Over 75% of the people with the mental health problems are 24 years and above. If the problems are taken care of at an early age, the fewer the mental health patients would be in the country.

The Bill’s Benefits to the Citizens

The main aim of the bill is to improve the effectiveness and the oversight of the federal mental health programs. The bill also aims at providing more funds for mental health programs. These funds are to enhance the efficiency in response to crisis and implement tracking systems for the inpatients and residential beds. The bill will also ensure that there are adequate funds to promote early intervention of mental health problems. The cases of suicide are also expected to reduce after the implementation of the bill.

Opposition

After the bill had been passed, some civil rights groups opposed the move claiming that the bill would violate patient’s privacy protection. According to these groups, the bill would also estrange some mental health patients by forcing them to seek the involuntary outpatient treatment.

People in the mental health field agrees that the bill will be beneficial, but they don’t believe that it would be of significant help. The mental health bill won’t have an effect on the medicine prices. Insurance policies are also likely to be affected by the passing of the bill.

Is the Mental Health Final?

Some say that the bill is just a tip of an iceberg, that the mental health bill is just a beginning of the reformation of the mental health programs. According to the players behind it, the bill is just laying a foundation for improvements in the mental health programs. It aims to reduce the numbers of the people suffering from the mental health problems in the country.

Conclusion

For more than 50 years, there have not been any changes in the mental health programs in the US. More and more health bills have been passed and implemented, but none has involved the mental health. The number of the mental health patients in the country has continued to rise and today, it estimated that there are over 60 million mental health patients. Out of the people suffering from mental health disorders, about 80% percent are adults over 24 years. If the bill is implemented, the number is expected to reduce as more and more people will have access to health care and get treated.